Ahriman
personification of the "destructive spirit" in Zoroastrianism
In Zoroastrianism, Ahriman (; Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭧𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩, romanized: Ahreman), also written Ahreman or as Ahrimanes, is the destructive evil spirit who functions as the main adversary either of the Spenta Mainyu or directly of Ahura Mazda, the highest Zoroastrian deity. His Avestan name is Angra Mainyu (; Avestan: 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱ 𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎, romanized: Aŋra Mainiiu).
In the Avesta
In Zoroaster's revelation
Avestan angra mainyu "seems to have been an original conception of Zoroaster's." In the Gathas, which are the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and are attributed to Zoroaster, angra mainyu is not yet a proper name. In the one instance in these hymns where the two words appear together, the concept spoken of is that of a mainyu ("mind", "spirit" or otherwise an abstract energy etc.) that is angra ("destructive", "chaotic", "disorderly", "inhibitive", "malign" etc., of which a manifestation can be anger). In this single instance – in Yasna 45.2 – the "more bounteous of the spirits twain" declares angra mainyu to be its "absolute antithesis".
A similar statement occurs in Yasna 30.3, where the antithesis is however aka mainyu, aka being the Avestan language word for "evil". Hence, aka mainyu is the "evil spirit" or "evil mind" or "evil thought," as contrasted with spenta mainyu, the "bounteous spirit" with which Ahura Mazda conceived of creation, which then "was".
The aka mainyu epithet recurs in Yasna 32.5, when the principle is identified with the daevas that deceive humankind and themselves. While in later Zoroastrianism, the daevas are demons, this is not yet evident in the Gathas: Zoroaster stated that the daevas are "wrong gods" or "false gods" that are to be rejected, but they are not yet demons. Some have also proposed a connection between Angra Mainyu and the sage Angiras of the Rigveda.
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